


Under the Harvest Moon

by TheLadyMerlin



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe, Community: fall-for-sx, Community: fall_for_sx, Community: tamingthemuse, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 22:07:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2484038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyMerlin/pseuds/TheLadyMerlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xander goes on a job for the Council and finds someone unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under the Harvest Moon

The moon hung low in the sky, low and big and yellow. A harvest moon. It cast an eerie, unreal glow over the trees with their bare, bent branches making twisted shadow shapes on the frosted ground. He shivered a little and watched his breath puff out in a plume of white. Massachusetts in the Autumn. _'You'll love it Xander'_ \- they'd said, fawning over him. _'The trees will be so pretty'_ And yeah, okay, maybe the trees – the ones that still had their leaves – were a stunning display. It had taken his breath away when he'd seen the hills filled with a riot of colour, all bright, bright golds and reds and oranges lit up like fire. Xander stamped a booted foot stubbornly. Still a stupid place to send a boy from SoCal. At least Africa had some heat to it. Had bad men and dangerous demons, too.

Xander looked up at the bare branches shaking in the chill breeze and figured it was probably fitting that the trees in the cemetery were already barren and deathlike. Their sharp, twiggy fingers pointing accusingly at the intruder. Xander felt a very real and very strong urge to simply turn around and head back to his quaint motel room to wait until morning. Of course, Willow had explained that the stone would work best at night. So here he was out at night following a purple, glowing stone. In a graveyard. In a decidedly creepy graveyard. Alone. 

He threw off the feeling of unease and concentrated on the glow and the heat in his hand. Willow's instruction had been simple – the stone will glow brighter and get warmer as you get closer to Amanda's breath. Xander had commented that it sounded suspiciously like a game they used to play out on the playground at school, but several stern watcher looks made his happy giggles die before they made out out of his mouth. Watchers are always so stuffy. Bet they never even played any games at watcher school. Way too uptight as far as Xander was concerned. 

He swore and dropped the stone with a hiss of pain. Shaking his hand out to lessen the sting, he searched the ground for Amanda's breath. Of course, it would help to have a description of what he was looking for. Stupid watchers and their stupid jobs. He didn't really mind being an errand boy, but sometimes... 

A wolf howled in the distance and he glanced around nervously. Yeah. Stupid watchers. 

He shook his head and returned to his search, muttering about watchers and witches under his breath, and brushing away the brown leaves and small rocks. 

“And what have we here!” 

His cry of triumph transformed into a huff of protest as something hit him from the side and knocked him from his feet. He scrambled onto his back and looked up at the snarled, bumpy face of his attacker. He kept the fangs from his neck with one arm as he groped for his stake with the other. The vampire leaned in closer and Xander made a face of disgust.

“Jesus! What the hell have you been eating?”

The vampire paused, a puzzled look on his face. Xander took the opportunity to bring the stake he'd finally found around. Unfortunately, the vampire didn't miss the movement and batted out with a snarl. Xander watched as the stake skittered across the ground. He got both hands on the dead guy's shoulders and held on with a grim determination. “Can't we talk about this?”

Xander's arms started tiring and he thought he could feel garlicky stink-breath on his neck. He closed his eye and took a deep breath only to choke on dust laden air. He coughed, waving his arms around and belatedly realised the weight of the vampire was gone. He cracked open his eye and peered up at his rescuer. He blinked and wondered if the vampire had scrambled his brains. “Spike?”

Spike grinned and held out a hand. 

Xander looked at the hand and blinked some more. “Spike?”

Spike lowered his arm and tilted his head. “You broken?”

“Um, no?”

Spike laughed and held out his hand again. This time Xander took it and was relieved when it proved to be solid. He stood and patted Spike on the chest and shoulders, just to be sure.

“Gettin' a bit personal there,” Spike commented, brushing the inquisitive hands away.

“But you're dead.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “Have been for a long time now.”

Xander shook his head in exasperation. “Don't you guys ever get tired of that line?”

Spike grinned back unrepentantly. “Never be sorry for anything you do, love. Good words to live by.” The vampire stooped and retrieved the shiny object which had gotten Xander's attention earlier. “Your ….necklace?” 

Xander took the offered item with a scowl. “Amanda's breath. Apparently.” Xander tucked the item in his pocket before looking at Spike once more. The vampire looked good. Hair, which was no longer gelled or dyed radioactive blond, hung in soft, dark blond waves around sharp, familiar cheekbones. Little Xander seemed to heartily approve. Enthusiastic approval. Spike smirked knowingly, but instead of blushing, Xander grinned. “So, you live around here or what?”

Spike studied him quietly and then smiled like Xander had passed some kind of test. “Not far from here actually.”

“Great,” Xander replied, walking away and heading for the ironwork archway in the distance. “You got any beer?”

“Yeah. Why?” Spike asked, catching up.

“Well, I figured you have a hell of a story and you could tell me all about while we had a few.”

Spike stopped walking and grabbed Xander's arm. “What the hell is all this? Are we suddenly friends now?”

Xander shook his head and cursed touchy vampires who went from friendly to hostile in naught point two seconds. “Not suddenly, no. But I thought, maybe, there at the end that we'd... I dunno, made our peace with each other. Was I wrong?”

Spike looked back quietly and Xander saw the vampire flinch when his eyes passed over the patch. Spike raised a hand and almost, almost touched the skin near the stark, black band. “I'm sorry.”

“I'm not,” Xander answered and Spike started a little. “And I should have said thank you a long time ago.” Xander stepped closer. He reached up and brushed his lips gently over Spike's. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Spike breathed, a little dazed.

Xander grinned happily. “So your place?”

Spike smiled back and it warmed Xander's heart. “Yes, my place.”


End file.
